Mayor Pushing Police To Live In Detroit

DETROIT (WWJ) – These brave women and men already work in the city of Detroit — and now, Mayor Dave Bing wants police officers to live in the city as well.

Bing has been vocal about his desire to get police officers to move back into the city, and now he’s taking action by announcing a new incentive plan to get them to live where they work.

Currently, 53 percent of Detroit Police officers commute to work from the suburbs, and Bing says the number is even higher for firefighters.

As part of a pilot program called “Project 14” Detroit cops and firefighters who live in the suburbs will be offered renovated homes in the city for as little as $1,000.

Mayor Bing said this is one step in a plan to revitalize Detroit.

“Project 14 is one approach that my administration is deploying to take two challenges facing Detroit — public safety and vacant homes — and turn them into an opportunity for neighborhood revitalization,” Mayor Bing said.

“There are steps that we can and must take today to improve the quality of life for our citizens. That’s why I am announcing Project 14 — an initiative designed to encourage Detroit Police officers to live in the communities in which they serve,” Bing said.

The project is targeting homes in Detroit’s Boston-Edison and East English Village communities. Bing says funding for the project will come from neighborhood stabilization funding, HUD and partnerships with local banks and credit unions. No tax dollars will be spent.

In 1999, the state legislature revoked a controversial rule that required Detroit police officers to live in the city.